Something to read:

In G.O.P. Race, Foreign Policy Is a Footnote

I'm back, did we move upstairs yet?

re: #2 ggt

Only us most-noble are here!

re: #1 freetoken

Something to read:

In G.O.P. Race, Foreign Policy Is a Footnote

No wonder, since they totally effed up our foreign policy the last time they were in high office.

re: #1 freetoken

Something to read:

In G.O.P. Race, Foreign Policy Is a Footnote

I guess they know they can't call Obama a wimp with success anymore since he got that Bin Something guy.

Peter Tosh

Bumped from downstairs:

If corporations receive the rights of individuals, then should they not have to accept the responsibilities and taxes of persons as well? Every corporation should pay taxes at the same rate as an individual, based on income, would have during the Reagan presidency.

That would fix the budget instantly.

re: #1 freetoken

Something to read:

In G.O.P. Race, Foreign Policy Is a Footnote

I distrust any foreign policy that you need to cross reference against religious texts.

re: #4 OhCrapIHaveACrushOnSarahPalin

No wonder, since they totally effed up our foreign policy the last time they were in high office.

I think the point was... that the "base" driving the GOP nomination process is so inward looking that foreign policy is pretty much an afterthought, and what little foreign policy is offered up by the prospective candidates is incoherent.

Now, the old powers-that-be in the GOP know better - witness the Iowa agri-businessmen who were courting Christie to get in the race. Agribusiness is very sensitive to foreign policy and the loony isolationism of the Tea Partying GOP runs counter to what agriculture in this country is all about.

I quit reading the City Journal when I read an article by Heather MacDonald in which she referenced the birth control pill as the "reason for societal breakdown."

I believe everyone has something to offer and try to read/hear all different points-of-view, but I haven't been able to bring myself to read the City Journal ever since.

You can just imagine my reaction . . .

re: #10 ggt

I quit reading the City Journal when I read an article by Heather MacDonald in which she referenced the birth control pill as the "reason for societal breakdown."

I believe everyone has something to offer and try to read/hear all different points-of-view, but I haven't been able to bring myself to read the City Journal ever since.

You can just imagine my reaction . . .

I think it should be read like any other set of documents -- not to be believed like a Bible full of Ultimate Troooths, but evaluated like Mother Jones, Huffington Post, Hot Air, or American Renaissance, based on what one knows about the pov of the organization that produces it and the writers who write for it.

re: #11 OhCrapIHaveACrushOnSarahPalin

I think it should be read like any other set of documents -- not to be believed like a Bible full of Ultimate Troooths, but evaluated like Mother Jones, Huffington Post, Hot Air, or American Renaissance, based on what one knows about the pov of the organization that produces it and the writers who write for it.

Yeah, it's been a couple of years and I still want to strangle the author of the article that pissed me off --I'd probably scream at her if I ever met her in person.

Now, I just tear the mag into little pieces and then shred them.

re: #9 freetoken

I do think the total eff-ups of the neoconservatives has something to do with the tea party reaction.

Witness now all the R's claiming they're against the wars, that we should cut and run, sounding as unhinged as Cindy Sheehan about it, acting as if they never voted for it twice.

Unlike many others, I don't think it's only that they hate Obama and are against everything he does, diplomatically -- they let some true wingnuts like Rumsfeld, Perle, Wolfowitz, etc. run rampant and didn't exactly get their money's worth.

That is, unless one is still of the eggs/omelets variety.

re: #12 ggt

Ha, an equally valid response.

It's catbox liner. I don't know how else to describe it, tbf.

gotta fly. back in the morning.

I'll try to answer you then, DF.

We researched the 100 U.S. corporations that shelled out the most last year in CEO compensation. At 25 of these corporate giants, we found, the bill for chief executive compensation actually ran higher than the company's entire federal corporate income tax bill.

Corporate outlays for CEO compensation — despite the lingering Great Recession — are rising. Employment levels have barely rebounded from their recessionary lows. Top executive pay levels, by contrast, have rebounded nearly all the way back from their pre-recession levels.

This contrast shows up starkly in the 2010 ratio between average worker and average CEO compensation. In 2009, we calculate, major corporate CEOs took home 263 times the pay of America's average workers. Last year, this gap leaped to 325-to-1.

Among the nation's top firms, the S&P 500, CEO pay last year averaged $10,762,304, up 27.8 percent over 2009. Average worker pay in 2010? That finished up at $33,121, up just 3.3 percent over the year before.

LOL class warfare amiright? Let's just keep worshiping our betters, pretending that we live in a meritocracy and continue yanking on Andrew Ryan's Great Chain.

This contrast shows up starkly in the 2010 ratio between average worker and average CEO compensation. In 2009, we calculate, major corporate CEOs took home 263 times the pay of America's average workers. Last year, this gap leaped to 325-to-1.

But remember, kids -- getting rid of the Bush tax cuts, or reverting back to Clinton, or even Reagan-era taxes = the death of freedom and the end of America now and forever. Grover Norquist says it and the GOP believes it, so it must be true.

This is just about as whacked as I've read in days.

nytol!

Any night owls around?

re: #21 Alexzander

Any night owls around?

Nobody here but the Spanish Inquisition.

re: #21 Alexzander

Any night owls around?

I came back, just saw your post.

re: #22 Kragar (Proud to be Kafir)

re: #23 OhCrapIHaveACrushOnSarahPalin

Yay. I'm on a quiet night shift at the moment.

re: #24 Alexzander

re: #23 OhCrapIHaveACrushOnSarahPalin

Yay. I'm on a quiet night shift at the moment.

Finally got the latest DLC for Fallout New Vegas and getting ready to lay waste to the Mojave again.

re: #19 ggt

This is just about as whacked as I've read in days.

Homofascism. Night of the Long Knives, anyone?

Morning, all

Daily WFMU pimpage: Another report from OWS by the Dusty Show's Clay Pigeon, October 6

Morning Peeps!

A little Marxist propaganda:

re: #30 000G

A little Marxist propaganda:

[Video]

I sing that song all the time. Cracks me up.

re: #31 RogueOne

I sing that song all the time. Cracks me up.

Certainly a little less confrontational than a lot of other workers' movement classics:

re: #30 000G

America is about individualism: individual rights and responsibilities, and the individual's right to negotiate employment and insurance contracts with multinational corporations, because the latter are just people, too...

re: #33 ralphieboy

America is about individualism: individual rights and responsibilities, and the individual's right to negotiate employment and insurance contracts with multinational corporations, because the latter are just people, too...

So how long until Rick Perry executes a corporation?

Theoretically, corporations can be dissolved and individual members of can be called to face legal consequences. But I have yet to hear of a corporation being raped in prison...

Another reason to encrypt/lockdown your phone:

Calif. Appeals Court Approves Cell Phone Searches During Traffic Stops
[Link: www.theblaze.com...]

In a case explicitly decided to set a precedent, the California Appellate court has determined police officers can rifle through your cellphone during a traffic violation stop.

This is not the first time such a law has been under scrutiny. In April, the Blaze told you about the extraction devices police were using in Michigan to download the entire contents of your phone.

Florida and Georgia are among the states that give no protection to a phone during a search after a violation has been committed. In particular, Florida law treats a smartphone as a “container” for the purposes of a search, similar to say a cardboard box open on the passenger seat, despite the thousands of personal emails, contacts, and photos a phone can carry stretching back years.

But after initially striking down cell phone snooping, California has now joined the list of states that allow cops to go through your phone without a warrant if they decide to impound your car.

re: #36 RogueOne

Which to me is the equvalent of giving the police the right to search my closets if I get busted for jaywalking.

re: #37 ralphieboy

Which to me is the equvalent of giving the police the right to search my closets if I get busted for jaywalking.

I know someone whose girlfriend allowed the police to search their home after she got caught with a roach during a traffic stop. Some people are too stupid for their own good.

re: #36 RogueOne

Don’t Let Privacy Law Get Stuck in 1986: Demand a Digital Upgrade to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act [secure.eff.org]

The government should be required to go to a judge and get a warrant before it can read our email, access private photographs and documents we store online, or track our location using our mobile phones. Please support legislation that would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) to require warrants for this sensitive information and to require the government to report publicly on the use of its surveillance powers.

ECPA was forward-looking when it was signed into law in October of 1986, considering that the World Wide Web hadn’t even been invented yet. But now, ECPA has become outdated. The privacy standards that it applies to new technologies are unclear and weak. For example, the law doesn’t specifically address cell phone location tracking at all, and it allows the government to seize most emails without ever having to go to a judge. Meanwhile, no one is perfectly sure how it applies to newer online services like social networks and search engines.

This gap between the law and the technology ultimately leaves us all at risk. Add your name now to sign the petition supporting ECPA reform, and feel free to add a personalized intro to the text below that will be sent to your legislators before the 25th anniversary of ECPA.

re: #38 RogueOne

I know someone whose girlfriend allowed the police to search their home after she got caught with a roach during a traffic stop. Some people are too stupid for their own good.

Sounds like that is about to become SOP. I say that police should be allowedc to conduct pre-emptive searches of houses in high-crime neighborhoods.

And I am for IRS blanket auditing of households in areas with a high rate of tax evasion and white collar criminality.

All drivers in those areas should be required to carry their most recent tax returns and receipts from the past three months in their glove compartment...

Speaking of being too dumb for your own good:

HPD Kingwood officers accused of stealing marijuana, getting high on the job
[Link: www.yourhoustonnews.com...]

ABC 13 initially reported about police officers taking marijuana during an arrest and bragging about getting high on work computers last month. Now messages the officers exchanged have surfaced and HPD wants to know what happened to three and a half pounds of missing dope.

Early in the morning of May 10, someone allegedly smelled pot coming from an apartment in a Summerwood complex. Whoever it was called the cops, and the cops apparently found a lot of pot.

"They started making jokes as if, oh we already know what's going on, stuff like that," 19-year-old Nicholas Hill said.

Hill was inside that apartment, and was arrested for drug possession. Now, it's at least three officers under internal police investigation.

Here's one of the text messages we found between officers on their in-car computers: At 1:29am, one officer writes one officer to another, "We just got 5lb of marijuana and a ton of other crap."

Sitting in their police cars in a Kingwood parking lot, that's what Houston cops bragged to each other what they'd found. The problem for them is that when they got downtown, it's not what they turned in.

When the officers showed up at the city jail to book Hill a short time later and turn in their evidence, the five pounds of marijuana they bragged about an hour earlier somehow had become a pound and a half.

It sounds like a joke on FARK.

Remember last month when the republicans were in a rage (rightfully, imo) about the raids on Gibson? Part of the uproar was based on the fact that the feds said the raid was in response to Gibson violating foreign law when the countries in question said they hadn't. Try to square this circle:

U.S. Drug Policy Would Be Imposed Globally By New House Bill
[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com...]

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill yesterday that would make it a federal crime for U.S. residents to discuss or plan activities on foreign soil that, if carried out in the U.S., would violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) -- even if the planned activities are legal in the countries where they're carried out. The new law, sponsored by Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) allows prosecutors to bring conspiracy charges against anyone who discusses, plans or advises someone else to engage in any activity that violates the CSA, the massive federal law that prohibits drugs like marijuana and strictly regulates prescription medication.

"Under this bill, if a young couple plans a wedding in Amsterdam, and as part of the wedding, they plan to buy the bridal party some marijuana, they would be subject to prosecution," said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for reforming the country's drug laws. "The strange thing is that the purchase of and smoking the marijuana while you're there wouldn't be illegal. But this law would make planning the wedding from the U.S. a federal crime."

If you're planning on taking a vacation to Amsterdam, keep your mouth shut.

What Everyone Is Too Polite to Say About Steve Jobs

In the days after Steve Jobs' death, friends and colleagues have, in customary fashion, been sharing their fondest memories of the Apple co-founder. He's been hailed as "a genius" and "the greatest CEO of his generation" by pundits and tech journalists. But a great man's reputation can withstand a full accounting. And, truth be told, Jobs could be terrible to people, and his impact on the world was not uniformly positive.

After celebrating Jobs' achievements, we should talk freely about the dark side of Jobs and the company he co-founded. Here, then, is a catalog of lowlights:

re: #43 RogueOne

If you're planning on taking a vacation to Amsterdam, keep your mouth shut.

The Netherlands are about to ban sales of high-potency weed in coffee shops and introduce laws banning tourists from visiting them. Times are getting tough all over...

re: #45 ralphieboy

The Netherlands are about to ban sales of high-potency weed in coffee shops and introduce laws banning tourists from visiting them. Times are getting tough all over...

I just read about the re-classification of high potency marijuana this morning. I thought the law banning tourists in the shops had already passed?

Time to get to work. Enjoy the day people!

re: #46 RogueOne

I just read about the re-classification of high potency marijuana this morning. I thought the law banning tourists in the shops had already passed?

Do not know the details. Have not been there in a long time. Last time I was in Utrecht (years ago) I ordered some skunk, at which point the vendor said "Sorry, I cannot sell this to you!".

I was a bit nonplussed until he explained that the baggie contained an enormous stem, which was entirely uncool, he fetched me a new baggie...

Morning Honcos.

re: #46 RogueOne

I just read about the re-classification of high potency marijuana this morning. I thought the law banning tourists in the shops had already passed?

What's the rationale behind the ban, I wonder?

re: #50 Sergey Romanov

What's the rationale behind the ban, I wonder?

The right wing is also gaining ascendancy in The Netherlands, a lot of people are tired of "drug tourism", as it tends to do little for the rest of the economy, and varieties of dope have grown so potent of late (more than 15% THC content) that they really can be classified as "hard drugs".

re: #28 000G

Daily WFMU pimpage: Another report from OWS by the Dusty Show's Clay Pigeon, October 6

lol, that has an Ed Schultz appearance!

"Revolutionary Sketch," a Strange Short Film Made From Archival Communist Propaganda Aimed at Soviet Teens
[Link: www.ubu.com...]

re: #53 000G

Kinda boring.

re: #54 Sergey Romanov

Kinda boring.

ok, then:

re: #55 000G
OMG they are not wearing helmets!!
Netty-pott competition, how do people think of this!?

re: #55 000G

ok, then:

[Video]

Heh.

Speaking of Soviet avant garde, the most weird and surrealistic imagery is in Vladimir Kobrin's popular science films. Those were the films that were actually recommended for use in high schools. Cf. this 1989 film "Self-organization of biological systems" (scroll to somewhere in the middle).

Porn=meth:
[Link: www.thesmokinggun.com...]

re: #57 Sergey Romanov

OOOG's had subtitles.
/

Or this 1987 flick, "Chemical transport through biological membranes"

And here's his most famous, Homo paradoxum:

re: #59 Shropshire_Slasher

OOOG's had subtitles.
/

You lose nothing ;)

re: #28 000G

Daily WFMU pimpage: Another report from OWS by the Dusty Show's Clay Pigeon, October 6

lol, also an appearance of Sam Webb

Yummy, pancakes with real maple flavored corn syrup, it's what for breakfast!

Kid raps against Putin and the Party of Thieves (United Russia):

be back tmrw.

Good Morning, Vietnam LGF

re: #63 Shropshire_Slasher

Yummy, pancakes with real maple flavored corn syrup, it's what for breakfast!

Coffee (that my co-worker brewed hours ago)

:(

re: #67 sattv4u2

Coffee (that my co-worker brewed hours ago)

:(

Well - get up and make some fresh! What are you, an invalid?

Beck Has "Absolutely No Respect For" Jon Stewart: "You Are Not A Thinking Man At All"

Limbaugh Derides Occupy Wall Street Protesters As "Pure, Genuine Parasites," Says Many Are "Bored Trust Fund Kids"

re: #68 reine.de.tout

Fun fact: I read a lot of words before I could pronounce them, and so for a long time I pronounced that as if I were saying "You have an invalid ticket".

"Poor Mrs. Badcrumble, her sciatica has made her an invalid."

re: #68 reine.de.tout

Well - get up and make some fresh! What are you, an invalid?

I hate to waste!

One more cup out of the old pot then I'll brew a fresh pot for the rest of the day

re: #70 Obdicut

Fun fact: I read a lot of words before I could pronounce them, and so for a long time I pronounced that as if I were saying "You have an invalid ticket".

"Poor Mrs. Badcrumble, her sciatica has made her an invalid."

LOL.
That's the problem with English - too many words that are spelled the same, pronounced differently for different meanings, or pronounced differently in a longer form than in the shorter form.

For what it's worth, I did the same thing. Another one - impotent. Gah. We could probably go on all day thinking of these things.

My daughter's confusion came over the prayer, "Hail Mary, full of grace".

"Mom, why does it say, HELL, Mary . . . ".

re: #72 reine.de.tout

[Link: www.amazon.com...]

Praying for rain. If none, I mow at 11.:(

re: #72 reine.de.tout

Richard Stands!

In grammar school, learning about American History, there were many names taught

George Washington,,, Ben Franklin,, The Adamses ,,, Hamilton (et al)

Not once did they tell us about Richard Stands!

So I had no idea why his name was in the Pledge of Allegience

",,,, and to the republic for Richard Stands,,,,"

re: #69 000G

Beck Has "Absolutely No Respect For" Jon Stewart: "You Are Not A Thinking Man At All"

Limbaugh Derides Occupy Wall Street Protesters As "Pure, Genuine Parasites," Says Many Are "Bored Trust Fund Kids"

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party, is absolutely hilarious.

re: #73 000G

[Link: www.amazon.com...]

LOL. "Forks in the road" is one of the pages in that book!
I can remember when we were very young, my brother and I getting curious about where the "lions" were on the road. He, of course, was talking about "lines". Wish I could tell you how long we went back and forth on that one:
"Right there!"
"I don't see anything"
"Right there in front of us!"
"We don't see the lions!"
"How can you miss them?"

re: #76 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party is absolutely hilarious.

Occupy Tampa sure is a big hit!!! NOT!!!
[Link: www.tampabay.com...]

re: #77 reine.de.tout

LOL. "Forks in the road" is one of the pages in that book!
I can remember when we were very young, my brother and I getting curious about where the "lions" were on the road. He, of course, was talking about "lines". Wish I could tell you how long we went back and forth on that one:
"Right there!"
"I don't see anything"
"Right there in front of us!"
"We don't see the lions!"
"How can you miss them?"

"He" being my dad, the driver.

re: #79 reine.de.tout

"He" being my dad, the driver.

You dad was a golf club!?!?

re: #80 sattv4u2

You dad was a golf club!?!?

Satt, you are so bad.
Actually - not a bad comparison. He scared us.

re: #76 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party, is absolutely hilarious.

For me it's been a reminder that the sword cuts both ways. For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad, in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

Why is it still morning?

I hate mornings -especially when I wake-up because I NEED MORE ALLERGY MEDS.

How are you-all?

re: #82 Killgore Trout

It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

Don't let it

BOTH sides need to be be exposed, for the very reason you stated

For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party.

Months ago, I got overwhelmingly trashed here for posting 6 simple words

A POX ON BOTH THEIR HOUSES

re: #83 ggt

Why is it still morning?

I hate mornings -especially when I wake-up because I NEED MORE ALLERGY MEDS.

How are you-all?

Hang tough

1st frost will be here soon!

(I'm assuming the allergies are pollen related)

Rain clouds are building.:)

re: #82 Killgore Trout

For me it's been a reminder that the sword cuts both ways. For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad, in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

The question is, will Dems heed this 'new' movement and show it's influence in the coming election? I don't see that happening to any scale comparable to the GOP embracing the TP.

re: #85 sattv4u2

Hang tough

1st frost will be here soon!

(I'm assuming the allergies are pollen related)

the culprit right now is MOLD. Pollen is over until about Februrary when the Trees start their root growing cycle --something they do regardless of the weather above ground, as I understand it.

Yes, a good freezing even nullifies Mold as far as allergies to. It also puts bugs into hibernation or kills them --a double bonus!

re: #86 Cannadian Club Akbar

Rain clouds are building.:)

What are they building?

I could use a new shed in my yard

re: #82 Killgore Trout

For me it's been a reminder that the sword cuts both ways. For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad, in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

I'm remaining ambivalent because, as with the Tea Party, I expect the whole Occupy movement to eventually become little more than a political arm of the DNC, when it's not being used to promote the policies of groups like ANSWER.

Believe it or not, I once did find some appeal in the Tea Party. I thought they sounded like folks who were truly fed up with things and wanted real change. Then the surface got peeled back and it was just the same bunch of yahoos and WASPs as every election, screaming "Down with Big Government, But Keep Your Hands Off My Medicare!"

re: #90 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm remaining ambivalent because, as with the Tea Party, I expect the whole Occupy movement to eventually become little more than a political arm of the DNC, when it's not being used to promote the policies of groups like ANSWER.

Believe it or not, I once did find some appeal in the Tea Party. I thought they sounded like folks who were truly fed up with things and wanted real change. Then the surface got peeled back and it was just the same bunch of yahoos and WASPs as every election, screaming "Down with Big Government, But Keep Your Hands Off My Medicare!"

In a way, it's too bad. Right now there is momentum to make change in the financial regulations --what change? I have no idea.

There is also the danger that change will be made (ka-ching) for change's sake. With no real improvement and maybe a net loss for all.

re: #82 Killgore Trout

For me it's been a reminder that the sword cuts both ways. For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad, in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

I used some of your info and links to try to open some eyes for some of my FB friends. I have utmost sympathy for you - it was exhausting. Odd to me that folks who espouse that some of us engage in "self-reflection" for dearly held values, do not wish to engage in it themselves.

re: #91 ggt

In a way, it's too bad. Right now there is momentum to make change in the financial regulations --what change? I have no idea.

There is also the danger that change will be made (ka-ching) for change's sake. With no real improvement and maybe a net loss for all.

Personally, my immediate priority is political change, as in the kind that turns Congress back into a functioning legislative body again. Only then can any change, whether it be financial, social, economic, or other, be pursued without becoming the tool of Wall Street power brokers.

Obdicut, before you head out, please take note of my polling question suggestion: [Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

You might want to encourage them to keep their answer to one sentence.

re: #91 ggt

In a way, it's too bad. Right now there is momentum to make change in the financial regulations --what change? I have no idea.

There is also the danger that change will be made (ka-ching) for change's sake. With no real improvement and maybe a net loss for all.

Bingo.

Lizard Thread Poll:

Don't you think that *SPUG* should be a word acceptable in Words with Friends and Strangers?

SPUG= n, 1. a energetic little short muzzled dog. 2. a spark plug

re: #96 ggt

Lizard Thread Poll:

Don't you think that *SPUG* should be a word acceptable in Words with Friends and Strangers?

SPUG= n, 1. a energetic little short muzzled dog. 2. a spark plug

Sure.

re: #93 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I found this site if you want to follow the money.
[Link: www.opensecrets.org...]

re: #96 ggt

Works for me!

re: #82 Killgore Trout

For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad,

I was gonna say "Really? It's all MBF now?" but then…

in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

Why am I not surprised?

Dear Co-Workers

Pens come with caps for a reason

Please place the cap on the pointy end of the pen so the pen will function longer!

Thanks

Cranky Old Me Looking For A Working Pen In The Control Room

THIS PAGEs-could incite some very intersting conversations.

re: #101 sattv4u2

Dear Co-Workers

Pens come with caps for a reason

Please place the cap on the pointy end of the pen so the pen will function longer!

Thanks

Cranky Old Me Looking For A Working Pen In The Control Room

LOL.
I use sharpie pens to mark my glass for things I'm working on.
I cannot tell you how many sharpies I use for each panel, because I forget to put the caps back on.

re: #82 Killgore Trout

For me it's been a reminder that the sword cuts both ways. For me the Left has lost all credibility to criticize the Tea Party. The lefty rallies are just as bad, in my opinion the lefty rallies are actually worse because of the violence. It has dampened my enthusiasm for exposing right wing extremism.

The 'violence' has been pretty minor.

The biggest example of 'lefty' rallies that we've had were the anti-war marches, which were vastly, vastly, vastly larger than these Occupy protests.

Other examples are stuff like the gay rights marches, the pro-immigrant marches, etc. The Wisconsin rallies were far larger than these.

These protests are not by the mainstream left. The Tea Party types really are the mainstream right these days. I fully agree with you that there is the danger of the extremist types at these rallies gaining power on the 'left', but at the moment it is only a danger.

I'm going to be heading down there today to do some on the spot polling; unscientific, ad-hoc, but hopefully in some way illuminating.

re: #101 sattv4u2

Dear Co-Workers

Pens come with caps for a reason

Please place the cap on the pointy end of the pen so the pen will function longer!

Thanks

Cranky Old Me Looking For A Working Pen In The Control Room

I've always used retractable pens when working. I never had time to fuck with caps.

re: #102 ggt

THIS PAGEs-could incite some very intersting conversations.

Too early. For me anyhow.

re: #104 Obdicut

The 'violence' has been pretty minor.

And hardly evidence of any systemic "left-wing violence", I might add.

The biggest example of 'lefty' rallies that we've had were the anti-war marches, which were vastly, vastly, vastly larger than these Occupy protests.

Other examples are stuff like the gay rights marches, the pro-immigrant marches, etc. The Wisconsin rallies were far larger than these.

Good points. But somehow, now "the Left" has been delegitimized, apparently.

These protests are not by the mainstream left. The Tea Party types really are the mainstream right these days.

Some people here want the MBF to be true really, really bad. I think they want their own disappointment with the Right going of the cliff the last couple years to be mirrored on the Left.

I'm going to be heading down there today to do some on the spot polling; unscientific, ad-hoc, but hopefully in some way illuminating.

I appreciate your work. Spread some love!

re: #106 reine.de.tout

Too early. For me anyhow.

Same here

That, and I'm just starting day 3 of 6 in a row of 12 hours or more

((want to keep it light,, SO ,,, if it gets too heavy here today/ tomorrow/ etc I'll most likely bail)

So, huntin' season is coming up. Princess dog is a part-time hunter, part-time couch potato. The hair on her feet grows and grows and I was told that she can't wear her fuzzy slippers in the field because they pick-up all kinds of stuff and become an impediment for the dog.

I spent about an hour cutting about 2/3 of her visual feet off. I can't get used to the look. It seems as though literally amputated part of her feet!

LOL

re: #87 BigPapa

The question is, will Dems heed this 'new' movement and show it's influence in the coming election? I don't see that happening to any scale comparable to the GOP embracing the TP.

I doubt it too. This is nothing new on the left. Thankfully there's always been a disconnect between the radical activist base and the beltway political establishment. It minimizes the radical influence on elected officials but I do think it hurts the Dem's electoral performance. The activist base on the left is not a reliable voting block. I think they'd like to imitate the Tea Party but I don't think it will happen.

re: #107 000G

And hardly evidence of any systemic "left-wing violence", I might add

I find it odd to call it 'left wing violence.' The violence seems to be cops on protesters.

I have no doubt some protesters are there to agitate and get arrested, to provoke the police. I guess you could call it violence if you have some agitators that provoke the police to get maced or thrown to the ground. But 'left wing' violence, not so sure about that.

re: #107 000G

I prefer not to speculate about motives. It tends to get into weird areas.

I think it's perfectly, perfectly valid for Killgore to ask questions like:

If people are responding to protests organized by Adbusters, shouldn't what Adbusters stands for (including anti-Semitic conspiracy theories) matter?

Shouldn't the protesters be held accountable for those that protest along with them? If someone is there with an openly anti-semitic sign, shouldn't he be confronted?

I think a lot of the rationale of what he's saying gets lost because he's also putting a laugh track on pictures of people getting pepper-sprayed. And then saying he doesn't like the violence.

To put it another way: An Adbusters candidate for office would be just as radical as a Tea Party candidate. Whatever you may think of their goals or ideals, they are very, very far away from the mainstream of US thought, and being pro-anarchist and anti-capitalist would make for about as extreme a candidate as a theocratic Tea Party type.

The difference being that I don't think there is any reason to believe the people at these rallies are going to swing the DNC by the tail in the way that the Tea Party did, and that I don't think the leaders of the Democrats are going to embrace their values anytime soon, whereas the values and message of the Tea Party were very much embraced by the GOP. In fact, I'd say the Tea Party just lifted up the lid of a value system already in place in the GOP, legacy of Dick Armey, Norquist, the collusion with the Religious Right, and generations of the Southern Strategy.

re: #109 ggt

So, huntin' season is coming up. Princess dog is a part-time hunter, part-time couch potato. The hair on her feet grows and grows and I was told that she can't wear her fuzzy slippers in the field because they pick-up all kinds of stuff and become an impediment for the dog.

I spent about an hour cutting about 2/3 of her visual feet off. I can't get used to the look. It seems as though literally amputated part of her feet!

LOL

What do you hunt?

re: #76 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party is absolutely hilarious.

I recommend this article at Harry's Place on how Fox & the rest of the right-wing media have been treating OWS: [Link: hurryupharry.org...]

MediaMatters has some hilarious pieces: [Link: mediamatters.org...]

Heh. Being rational is a little wearing.

I should just totally flip out some day and stake out some wildly extremist positions.

re: #113 Killgore Trout

What do you hunt?

her slippers that the dogs keep stealing!

re: #113 Killgore Trout

What do you hunt?

mostly diamonds and shoes.

My husband and kid hunt pheasant.

The dogs, lately have been hunting mostly patio toads.

I could be mayor.:)
[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com...]

re: #118 Cannadian Club Akbar

I could be mayor.:)
[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com...]

Yes, you could

You already have the head and outfit for it

Image: mccheese.jpg

re: #112 Obdicut

I think it's perfectly, perfectly valid for Killgore to ask questions like:

If people are responding to protests organized by Adbusters, shouldn't what Adbusters stands for (including anti-Semitic conspiracy theories) matter?

Shouldn't the protesters be held accountable for those that protest along with them? If someone is there with an openly anti-semitic sign, shouldn't he be confronted?

I think those questions are perfectly valid, however it's also true that KT hasn't really been asking them, that's more what you did. His job seems to have been exposure, not critique. And a lot of his commentary lately is snark, mockery, and a somewhat creepy glee at the sight of protestors getting beaten. I can understand that coming from a sarcastic pov that wants to get back at some of what he perceives to be ignorance to his otherwise fair observations. But some stuff just comes across as petty and it doesn't help anything.

I think a lot of the rationale of what he's saying gets lost because he's also putting a laugh track on pictures of people getting pepper-sprayed. And then saying he doesn't like the violence.

Yup.

To put it another way: An Adbusters candidate for office would be just as radical as a Tea Party candidate. Whatever you may think of their goals or ideals, they are very, very far away from the mainstream of US thought, and being pro-anarchist and anti-capitalist would make for about as extreme a candidate as a theocratic Tea Party type.

Indeed, that would be the MBF having become real. It isn't real, however – put a "yet" after that statement if you want.

The difference being that I don't think there is any reason to believe the people at these rallies are going to swing the DNC by the tail in the way that the Tea Party did, and that I don't think the leaders of the Democrats are going to embrace their values anytime soon, whereas the values and message of the Tea Party were very much embraced by the GOP. In fact, I'd say the Tea Party just lifted up the lid of a value system already in place in the GOP, legacy of Dick Armey, Norquist, the collusion with the Religious Right, and generations of the Southern Strategy.

Agreed. But I do want to point out that there are legitimate points that OWS has been focusing attention on, real issues that even the President adressed recently (and for that he got massive conspiracy theory flak from the Right that is by now pretty much canon). If these real issues become the core focus of the protests, that would be great. If it all rides off into lefty la-la-land with the Dems following then it would become MBF come true.

re: #118 Cannadian Club Akbar

I could be mayor.:)
[Link: www.huffingtonpost.com...]

Ah, how business is done and has been done since the beginning of business . . .

re: #121 ggt
LOL

re: #120 000G

Didn't Cain spout some of the OWC conspiracy nonsense as well?

Well, this lawn ain't gonna mow itself. BBIAB.

re: #124 Cannadian Club Akbar

Well, this lawn ain't gonna mow itself. BBIAB.

It would if you owned a goat!

re: #125 sattv4u2

It would if you owned a goat!

AND ,,, it makes a tasty dinner after it's been fattened up all summer!!

re: #123 ggt

OWS, you mean? Yes, see my page. He was being apologetic about it ("I don't have facts to back this up, but") and implicitly left the possibility open for it to be a bottom-up conspiracy rather than a top-down one, but eh… he's still learning.

Excellent article:

10 Things to Know About Wall Street's Rapacious Attack on America

Whackos to the Left and Wackos to the Right.

IMHO, we have a problem with Whackos in Congress . . . .

re: #129 ggt

Whackos to the Left and Wackos to the Right.

IMHO, we have a problem with Whackos in Congress . . .

Stuck in the middle with you

(which isn't bad, unless I have to pay for the diamonds and shoes!!)

re: #76 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party, is absolutely hilarious.

I completely understand the rage of the OWS movement. I get it, even if I'm not the type to go out and protest in the streets. Hell, now I'd be even less inclined, since I've got to hustle and get a job and get cash in hand before next month or I'm screwed.

That said, yeah. The hostility on the right towards OWS, especially after the last few years of Tea Party rallies is hilarious and entirely telling.

re: #130 sattv4u2

Stuck in the middle with you

(which isn't bad, unless I have to pay for the diamonds and shoes!!)

most certainly! get out of my middle!

LOL

re: #128 allegro

Excellent article:

10 Things to Know About Wall Street's Rapacious Attack on America

. Wall Street still owns the regulators: When you put too much money in the hands of the few and when you deregulate finance, you get a financial casino. That’s what happened in the years leading up to the 1929 crash, and it happened again in 2008. During the New Deal we regulated the tar out of finance, ending their reign of speculative terror. And it worked for nearly a quarter of a century as financial crises virtually disappeared. Since financial deregulation reappeared over the last 30 years, there have been over 180 financial crises around the world. So you would think after 2008, we’d be back to reining in the bankers. But, no…our leaders are afraid to stifle “financial innovation” (See next point.) The Dodd-Frank bill is weak and getting weaker, thanks to intensive Wall Street lobbying. High government officials still believe that Wall Street can lead the nation forward. The kids are telling us that we should shut down the casinos now. Right again.

That would be the problem, IMHO.

GlaDOSiri. The only iPhone I would consider buying.

re: #128 allegro

Excellent article:

10 Things to Know About Wall Street's Rapacious Attack on America

You should PAGES that article!

re: #131 Lidane

We let ourselves be snookered again. We bailed out Wall Street but demanded no reforms on their part, and any attempt to get them to concede just brings cries that government interference and overregulation will ruin the financial industry.

As if it were anything but a lack of regulation and oversight that led to the initial problem.

When people decide that elections are not going to bring about the results they long for, they take to the streets and get vocal.

In that sense the Tea Parts and OWS are of the same cloth, just cut from different ends of the bolt.

re: #128 allegro

Excellent article:

10 Things to Know About Wall Street's Rapacious Attack on America

Image: wallstreet.jpg

re: #134 JasonA

GlaDOSiri. The only iPhone I would consider buying.

[Video]

I can't stand the washing machine beeping at me when it's cycle is finished. I don't think I could have a phone that talked back. I'd probably throw it around.

My husband as one of the GPS things that talks. If I hear "recalculating" ONE MORE TIME . . . !!!!!

Do you want to know what I think of Alarm Clocks?

re: #136 ralphieboy

In that sense the Tea Parts and OWS are of the same cloth, just cut from different ends of the bolt.

Speaking of which:

re: #137 Lidane

Image: wallstreet.jpg

If there is one thing I will never forgive Obama for, it's allowing the opportunity to crack down on Wall Street go. Whatever the reason, whether it be out of some misguided belief that holding back would be seen as "bipartisan" or fear that he'd be characterized as a "socialist" for going after them (as if it stopped the Right when he didn't), he blew a perfect opportunity that would have carried with it a great deal of support from voters.

Honestly, I think in some ways that's part of the apathy and general distaste that's been aimed at his presidency thus far, the fact that he simply refuses to rock the boat when everybody can see that it's badly needed.

re: #136 ralphieboy

We let ourselves be snookered again. We bailed out Wall Street but demanded no reforms on their part, and any attempt to get them to concede just brings cries that government interference and overregulation will ruin the financial industry.

As if it were anything but a lack of regulation and oversight that led to the initial problem.

When people decide that elections are not going to bring about the results they long for, they take to the streets and get vocal.

In that sense the Tea Parts and OWS are of the same cloth, just cut from different ends of the bolt.

Agreed. My original criticism of the Tea Party agenda is the same with OWS. The bailouts were necessary. It was essential to save our banking infrastructure. Serious banking reform is going to be very difficult under normal circumstances because of the big money involved. In today's political environment with the obstructionist GOP it's next to impossible. I'd like to see more serious talk about banking regulations as well as breaking up the large megabanks but I don't think that's going to happen.

re: #140 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

If there is one thing I will never forgive Obama for, it's allowing the opportunity to crack down on Wall Street go. Whatever the reason, whether it be out of some misguided belief that holding back would be seen as "bipartisan" or fear that he'd be characterized as a "socialist" for going after them (as if it stopped the Right when he didn't), he blew a perfect opportunity that would have carried with it a great deal of support from voters.

Because he is as owned by Wall Street as most any other major politician. His hands are tied, and even if he called for it, as was the case with Dodd-Frank, none of it would be seriously implemented. (cf. D-F)

re: #140 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

Too little, too late?

I went looking at the videos made by the 'Bad Lip Reading' guy last night.

Besides the ridiculously funny political ones (Bachmann, Perry, and Obama), the guy has done some song rebuilds with the likes of Taylor Swift, Rebecca Black and Black Eyed Peas that are not only funny as hell, but really good songs on their own.

The guy's a record producer out of Texas, and he's really good at what he does.

re: #141 Killgore Trout

Agreed. My original criticism of the Tea Party agenda is the same with OWS. The bailouts were necessary. It was essential to save our banking infrastructure. Serious banking reform is going to be very difficult under normal circumstances because of the big money involved. In today's political environment with the obstructionist GOP it's next to impossible. I'd like to see more serious talk about banking regulations as well as breaking up the large megabanks but I don't think that's going to happen.

Of course it's not going to happen. The same people who would push back the hardest on actual banking reform and regulations are the same ones who work the hardest to convince people to vote against their own economic interests every single time by telling them that reform and regulation are an end to America as we know it.

Ergo, we have movements like OWS and the Tea Party.

re: #138 ggt

I can't stand the washing machine beeping at me when it's cycle is finished. I don't think I could have a phone that talked back. I'd probably throw it around.

My husband as one of the GPS things that talks. If I hear "recalculating" ONE MORE TIME . . . !!!

Do you want to know what I think of Alarm Clocks?

Apple's betting big on this feature being a killer app, but I don't know how high the demand for it is going to be. Android has had good voice controls from the get-go for anyone who wanted it, and Windows Phone 7 just made theirs better with 7.5.

I guess it all comes down to whether or not people want to talk to their phones. I feel kind of silly doing it.

How do citizens vote with their money against Wall Street and Big Banks?

You can't keep your money in a mattress --or not enough people would do that to make a difference.

Technically, with automatic deposit and internet banking, it is possible to bank anywhere in the world --a non US bank, but aren't most banks internationally connected anyway?

Meaning, when consumers are upset with a corporation, they boycot it's products.

How do you boycott Wall Street? How do you hit them in the wallet?

re: #147 ggt

You can't keep your money in a mattress --or not enough people would do that to make a difference.

Would you be interested in investing in my mattress fund?

re: #146 JasonA

Apple's betting big on this feature being a killer app, but I don't know how high the demand for it is going to be. Android has had good voice controls from the get-go for anyone who wanted it, and Windows Phone 7 just made theirs better with 7.5.

I guess it all comes down to whether or not people want to talk to their phones. I feel kind of silly doing it.

Knight Rider but without the car?

Good morning lizards.

I've been without a cigarette since Monday. I might make it after all.

The arguments against regulating the financial markets sounded to me like arguing that traffic lights impede our freedom of travel and should be dismantled.

Which works fine for a while- at least for those with the biggest SUV's, but eventually you hit gridlock, and then you find out how expensive it is to call out traffic cops to stand at all the intersections and get things moving again.

...

re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

Good morning lizards.

I've been without a cigarette since Monday. I might make it after all.

((((NJDhockeyfan)))))))

Oh boy. I'm talking to a dear friend and just finding out she believes in psychics.

re: #145 Lidane

Of course it's not going to happen. The same people who would push back the hardest on actual banking reform and regulations are the same ones who work the hardest to convince people to vote against their own economic interests every single time by telling them that reform and regulation are an end to America as we know it.

Ergo, we have movements like OWS and the Tea Party.

What politician would purposefully attack his biggest donors and/or their friends? Renting a politician these days is not something that J. Average Voter can do on the sort of pay that Big Business is willing to pay. And every election, we send some new kid who promises he'll be "our" voice, the voice of the common man, but within months is kissing Wall Street ass with the best of them. After all, he's gotta start putting away money for his reelection bid, dontchaknow?

re: #149 ggt

Knight Rider but without the car?

More like KITT without a personality. But sci-fi has been telling us that this is what we're supposed to be doing, so I guess it is inevitable, Mr. Anderson...

re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

The first two weeks are by far the hardest.

Starting coughing up the black crap that's been in your lungs for years yet? That's a fun part. It happens because the cilia in your lungs regrow and are actually able to clean it out.

re: #135 ggt

You should PAGES that article!

I would iffin I knew how. I can't find a thingie to do that with...

re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

Good morning lizards.

I've been without a cigarette since Monday. I might make it after all.

That's fantastic. Take it day by day, craving by craving. You are now a non-smoker.

I'm still so happy I quit 10 years later.

re: #153 iceweasel

Oh boy. I'm talking to a dear friend and just finding out she believes in psychics.

((((ice weasel)))))

re: #151 ralphieboy

The arguments against regulating the financial markets sounded to me like arguing that traffic lights impede our freedom of travel and should be dismantled.

Which works fine for a while- at least for those with the biggest SUV's, but eventually you hit gridlock, and then you find out how expensive it is to call out traffic cops to stand at all the intersections and get things moving again.

...

The most vocal voices against regulations are the ones who have to spend money circumventing them. Their interest is solely in making it legal, or at least free from prosecution, to scam you and me out of greater sums of money.

re: #157 allegro

I would iffin I knew how. I can't find a thingie to do that with...

On the Pages Main Page, up at the top hit the button that says "Create A Page". The applet will appear in a new window.

Alright. I'm off to Zucotti park.

re: #161 ggt

On the Pages Main Page, up at the top hit the button that says "Create A Page". The applet will appear in a new window.

Ah, there it is! I knew there had to be one. Thanks!

I think the Lawyers are going to have to go after Wall Street --regulate thru the courts (instead of legislate thru the courts).

Congress will never do anything about the issue in a manner that works.

re: #160 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

The most vocal voices against regulations are the ones who have to spend money circumventing them. Their interest is solely in making it legal, or at least free from prosecution, to scam you and me out of greater sums of money.

The two biggest arguments: "regulation stifles our industry" and "we need high salaries and bonuses to attract the best talent" were completely dispersed by the events of 2008, but there are enough people willing to still belive in them that the arguments are still presented.

re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

Good morning lizards.

I've been without a cigarette since Monday. I might make it after all.

You will

The first ten years or so are the hardest

After that, it's just maintenance!!

Is there an ACLU or SPLC for those de-frauded by Big Money?

re: #141 Killgore Trout

Agreed. My original criticism of the Tea Party agenda is the same with OWS. The bailouts were necessary. It was essential to save our banking infrastructure. Serious banking reform is going to be very difficult under normal circumstances because of the big money involved. In today's political environment with the obstructionist GOP it's next to impossible. I'd like to see more serious talk about banking regulations as well as breaking up the large megabanks but I don't think that's going to happen.

And the reason its not going to happen is because our politicians are bought. They are bought by the big corporations, banks, polluting industries, etc...
Our politicians spend the majority of their time fund raising. This is our system. The lobbyists control the agenda and basically write our laws and regulations.
Both parties engage in this. They may be good people, but it is the system we have created. Until we get big money interest out of our political system, nothing will change.

re: #168 blueraven

And the reason its not going to happen is because our politicians are bought. They are bought by the big corporations, banks, polluting industries, etc...
Our politicians spend the majority of their time fund raising. This is our system. The lobbyist control the agenda and basically write our laws and regulations.
Both parties engage in this. They may be good people, but it is the system we have created. Until we get big money interest out of our political system, nothing will change.

don't you think a part of the problem is that the Corporations are ENTRENCHED in our every day lives? Not only what we buy and eat, but in sports, and philanthropy. Hospitals, not-for profits get big money from Corporations. With every layer, there seems to be corporate entanglement that is global.

(OH, a new buzz word --Corporate Enganglement, not be confused with Quantum Entanglement).

It's a complex issue --

re: #165 ralphieboy

The two biggest arguments: "regulation stifles our industry" and "we need high salaries and bonuses to attract the best talent" were completely dispersed by the events of 2008, but there are enough people willing to still belive in them that the arguments are still presented.

They did their job in '09, making the subject of holding banks responsible for the collapse and subsequently relying largely on TARP dollars unpalatable. It's that failure to act, combined with the subsequent belief that Wall Street is "overregulated" and "overtaxed" that has given rise to the OWS movement. Whether or not it will do more than cause a great deal of sound and fury has yet to be determined.

re: #162 Obdicut

Alright. I'm off to Zucotti park.

Have fun you America-hating-nothing better to do-anti-zionist-zionist-organic food eating Satan worshipper.

re: #156 Obdicut

The first two weeks are by far the hardest.

Starting coughing up the black crap that's been in your lungs for years yet? That's a fun part. It happens because the cilia in your lungs regrow and are actually able to clean it out.

Not yet but sounds like an experience I wont forget.

re: #169 ggt

don't you think a part of the problem is that the Corporations are ENTRENCHED in our every day lives? Not only what we buy and eat, but in sports, and philanthropy. Hospitals, not-for profits get big money from Corporations. With every layer, there seems to be corporate entanglement that is global.

(OH, a new buzz word --Corporate Enganglement, not be confused with Quantum Entanglement).

It's a complex issue --

It is complex, but campaign finance reform would go a long way to fixing part of the problem.
If there were better regulations in place and a more fair tax code, these corporations wouldn't have so much influence.
I am not against big corporations and big business, I just dont want them writing our laws.

re: #171 darthstar

Have fun you America-hating-nothing better to do-anti-zionist-zionist-organic food eating Satan worshipper.

You forgot a comment about his mother.

/:0

re: #171 darthstar

Have fun you America-hating-nothing better to do-anti-zionist-zionist-organic food eating Satan worshipper.

Oh ,, and while you're there, can you get me a T-Shirt!!
/

Mornin' everyone...had a nice walk with my dad and niece and four dogs...getting ready to go see my nephew's inline-skating hockey game. That means I won't have time to stick around and talk about how wrong everyone else is.

Have a good day!

re: #174 ggt

You forgot a comment about his mother.

/:0

I said Satan.
/

re: #173 blueraven

It is complex, but campaign finance reform would go a long way to fixing part of the problem.
If there were better regulations in place and a more fair tax code, these corporations wouldn't have so much influence.
I am not against big corporations and big business, I just dont want them writing our laws.

I think a lot of good has come of the utilization of the corporate structure and it's not going away.

It's so difficult to understand how to make change that doesn't have negative effects somewhere in the entanglement.

re: #177 darthstar

I said Satan.
/

OMG!

re: #153 iceweasel

Oh boy. I'm talking to a dear friend and just finding out she believes in psychics.

Has she spoken to Telepsychic Ray?

If only citizens could contribute to campaigns, not corporations or PAC's it would make a big difference AND make politicians spend their own money. Having vested interest is, IMHO, a good thing.

Perhaps it would less the election bullshit as well, campaigns might cost less if they didn't have to woo corporate interests.

My very first page! I am no longer a Pages virgin.

re: #178 ggt

I think a lot of good has come of the utilization of the corporate structure and it's not going away.

It's so difficult to understand how to make change that doesn't have negative effects somewhere in the entanglement.

True...but what we have in place now, is not working for the majority of us.

Change will have to be thoughtful and debated by both parties without big money interests determining the outcome. That is impossible in the current environment.

re: #162 Obdicut

Alright. I'm off to Zucotti park.

Watch your step!

Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR

re: #182 allegro

My very first page! I am no longer a Pages virgin.

Aw, you broke your cherry!

cheers

re: #183 blueraven

True...but what we have in place now, is not working for the majority of us.

Change will have to be thoughtful and debated by both parties without big money interests determining the outcome. That is impossible in the current environment.

AHAHAHAHAHa!

Thoughtful discourse --in Congress? When has that ever happened?

re: #186 ggt

AHAHAHAHAHa!

Thoughtful discourse --in Congress? When has that ever happened?

Many, many moons ago.

re: #186 ggt

AHAHAHAHAHa!

Thoughtful discourse --in Congress? When has that ever happened?

Not for the past 25-30 years for sure!

anybody else hate the feds yet?....nice mess, eh?

The Feds are us.

re: #190 prairiefire

The Feds are us.

QFT

We allowed all of this to happen.

Awe, shit:

Raiders owner Al Davis dead at 82

RIP Al.

re: #191 blueraven

QFT

We allowed all of this to happen.

Voter apathy

iirc, less than 50% of eligible voters are registered and only around 50% of those vote!

Also ,,, there's the whole "THROW ALL OF THEM OUT (except my guy)" attitude

re: #192 NJDhockeyfan

Awe, shit:

Raiders owner Al Davis dead at 82

RIP Al.

Just Win, Baby

re: #181 ggt

If only citizens could contribute to campaigns, not corporations or PAC's it would make a big difference AND make politicians spend their own money. Having vested interest is, IMHO, a good thing.

Perhaps it would less the election bullshit as well, campaigns might cost less if they didn't have to woo corporate interests.

re: #193 sattv4u2

Voter apathy

iirc, less than 50% of eligible voters are registered and only around 50% of those vote!

Also ,,, there's the whole "THROW ALL OF THEM OUT (except my guy)" attitude

This.

If Teddy Kennedy had run in Georgia he'd never have won. Likewise, Strom Thurmond in Massachusetts would be a non-starter. "My Guy" won because he or she is generally in sync with the public that elected him/her.

Most of the "throw the bums out" talk hovers over the people who were elected by groups NOT like the locals.

Democracy, even representative democracy, means putting up with the voices of those idiots over there, too. /

re: #184 NJDhockeyfan

Watch your step!

Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR

There's the OWS movement

This guy is part of the BOWEL Movement

re: #76 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

I'm ambivalent right now about the whole Occupy movement, but the absolute hostility that the Right is showing to them, after years of playing up the "home grown, grassroots" Tea Party, is absolutely hilarious.

I'm still skeptical because of the lack of transparency and the bandwagonism. I spent some time going through a lot of the Occupy copycat sites and if we weren't operating in a Citizen's United world, and I knew a lot less about the way ANSWER operates, I might be more enthusiastic.

As for the stupid concern trolling and fill-in-the blank-baiting, who has time for it except to laugh at that bullshit.

That said; I've intended to go and document since earlier in the week, sched hasn't allowed. I'm going to see what's happening after class today.

re: #153 iceweasel

Oh boy. I'm talking to a dear friend and just finding out she believes in psychics.

Palmdale Psychic Accused Of ‘Theft By Hex’
[Link: losangeles.cbslocal.com...]

Heh.

re: #195 kirkspencer

If Teddy Kennedy had run in Georgia he'd never have won

Really?

Then how do explain Jimmy Carter?

re: #184 NJDhockeyfan

Watch your step!

Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR

Lovely.
/

re: #193 sattv4u2

Voter apathy

iirc, less than 50% of eligible voters are registered and only around 50% of those vote!

Also ,,, there's the whole "THROW ALL OF THEM OUT (except my guy)" attitude

That is part of it for sure. But we act like sheeple when the Supreme Court decides to let big corporations have even more influence over our government. We allow political action superpacs and C4 dummy corporations to anonymously contribute to those superpacs.
It is legalized money laundering.

re: #199 sattv4u2

If Teddy Kennedy had run in Georgia he'd never have won

Really?

Then how do explain Jimmy Carter?

It is an ongoing myth that Jimmy Carter was some sort of liberal president. He was a political moderate and a social conservative. Why do you think Teddy Kennedy ran against him?

re: #202 ralphieboy

It is an ongoing myth that Jimmy Carter was some sort of liberal. He was a political moderate and a social conservative. Why do you think Teddy Kennedy ran against him?

It was more Kennedys long desire to be President (and thinking he could seize on Carters weakness after 4 years) than any huge split in policy

AND ,,,, Muskie was a more serious threat to Carter entering the summer prior to the convention

Again, it was more "we need someone OTHER than Carter" than anything else

re: #200 Killgore Trout

Lovely.
/

They are shitting on police cars just like the Tea Party people did!
//

re: #184 NJDhockeyfan

Watch your step!

Stinking up Wall Street: Protesters accused of living in filth as shocking pictures show one demonstrator defecating on a POLICE CAR

It looks like most of the "trash" the dailyfail is showing is just camping stuff stored during the day...

re: #204 NJDhockeyfan

They are shitting on police cars just like the Tea Party people did!
//

TAKE A DUMP FOR DEMOCRACY!

re: #206 albusteve

TAKE A DUMP FOR DEMOCRACY!

Just poop!

Have to go all!

Have a Great Day!

re: #187 Targetpractice, Worst of Both Worlds

Many, many moons ago.

Was that before or after they'd settle their differences with pistols at dawn?

///

Occupy Wall Street Protester in East German Military Uniform Calls for 'Class Warfare'

Heh.

Gotta run...working today...

Cheers!

re: #205 BishopX

It looks like most of the "trash" the dailyfail is showing is just camping stuff stored during the day...

Really?

2nd and 6th photos down??

NOTE TO SELF ,, never go camping with Bishop!!

re: #204 NJDhockeyfan

Nah. Once the astroturfers and Faux News got involved, the Tea Party just shit all over the Constitution.

re: #206 albusteve

TAKE A DUMP FOR DEMOCRACY!

FLUSH THE 1%ERS!!

re: #205 BishopX

It looks like most of the "trash" the dailyfail is showing is just camping stuff stored during the day...

If they are sleeping in within those nasty trash bags I bet the stench is incredible out there.

re: #205 BishopX

It looks like most of the "trash" the dailyfail is showing is just camping stuff stored during the day...

"It's only one Marxists pooping on a police car out of thousands of mrxists not pooing on police cars!"
/Moonbat

re: #214 sattv4u2

FLUSH THE 1%ERS!!

TERMINATE THE TERDS!

re: #216 Killgore Trout

"It's only one Marxists pooping on a police car out of thousands of mrxists not pooing on police cars!"
/Moonbat

Free speech!

I really gotta go but damn this is funny as shit.
(no pun intended)

According to eye witnesses, when people ran to tell nearby police about the man defecating on the squad car they were ignored.

"I'm not listening to any more of your shit."

re: #212 sattv4u2

Really?

2nd and 6th photos down??

NOTE TO SELF ,, never go camping with Bishop!!

2nd photo is trash. 3rd photo is people's stuff during the day (note the sleeping person). 6th photo appears to be largely comprised of tarps, possibly stockpiled in case of rain.

Those are the only photo of "trash" or "rubish". One is clearly trash, one is peoples personal belongings and one is a stack of tarps. Seems fine to me.

Asshole talking shit

Good piece by Ezra Klein at WaPo:

Financial crisis and stimulus: Could this time be different?

Growth-focused and debt-focused strategies are attempts to end the recession. They’re policy on the offensive. But perhaps the real lesson from Rogoff and Reinhart is that these recessions rarely end quickly, and so officials must manage a long period of pain — defensive policy, so to speak. America doesn’t do defense very well.

“We’re trying right now to keep our lifestyles going,” says Michael Spence, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at New York University. “It’s not really working, but the way we’re doing it is putting all the burden on the unemployed while trying to leave the employed untouched. Eventually, this is going to require a redistribution of that burden.”

re: #205 BishopX

It looks like most of the "trash" the dailyfail is showing is just camping stuff stored during the day...

I saw one picture of trash, and two of camping gear. Although, really, get some twine or something, people. Roll your sleeping bags up.

re: #224 EmmmieG

I saw one picture of trash, and two of camping gear. Although, really, get some twine or something, people. Roll your sleeping bags up.

Hard to roll the bag up when there's someone in it! Trust me, I've tried!

re: #204 NJDhockeyfan

They are shitting on police cars just like the Tea Party people did!
//

Well, at least that guy has grey hair, so his trust fund probably dried out and he can intermingle with the Teabaggers.

re: #225 BishopX

Hard to roll the bag up when there's someone in it! Trust me, I've tried!

I clearly saw some just lying around open. Really bad idea, especially with New York's pigeon population.

More antisemitism in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street....
Image: 6223435728_1915af4eff_b.jpg

Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee

re: #221 BishopX

2nd photo is trash. 3rd photo is people's stuff during the day (note the sleeping person). 6th photo appears to be largely comprised of tarps, possibly stockpiled in case of rain.

Those are the only photo of "trash" or "rubish". One is clearly trash, one is peoples personal belongings and one is a stack of tarps. Seems fine to me.

I didn't say anything about #3

As to #6, it would be interesting to see how much of that stuff is left behind when this is over ( the boxes ,, the signs ,, the empty plastic bottles)

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told The Daily Caller that he guarantees President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan will lower the nation’s 9.1 percent unemployment rate if it becomes law.

joke of the day

Read more: [Link: dailycaller.com...]

re: #229 sattv4u2

I didn't say anything about #3

As to #6, it would be interesting to see how much of that stuff is left behind when this is over ( the boxes ,, the signs ,, the empty plastic bottles)

My guess is that New York City is on the hook for tens of thousands worth of clean up.

re: #228 Killgore Trout

More antisemitism in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street...
Image: 6223435728_1915af4eff_b.jpg

Seattle Anti-Imperialist Committee

another one
[Link: www.flickr.com...]

re: #221 BishopX

2nd photo is trash. 3rd photo is people's stuff during the day (note the sleeping person). 6th photo appears to be largely comprised of tarps, possibly stockpiled in case of rain.

Those are the only photo of "trash" or "rubish". One is clearly trash, one is peoples personal belongings and one is a stack of tarps. Seems fine to me.

AND , I doubt it's been the photographers mission (so far) to even take pictures of piles of trash

Looks like they are focusing on the protesters, not their rubbish

re: #210 NJDhockeyfan

Apropos: [Link: littlegreenfootballs.com...]

re: #231 EmmmieG

My guess is that New York City is on the hook for tens of thousands worth of clean up.

Watch the garbage men go on strike the day after the protest ends!!!

re: #231 EmmmieG

re: #235 sattv4u2

Watch the garbage men go on strike the day after the protest ends!!!

Talk about leverage in negotiations!!!

re: #210 NJDhockeyfan

Occupy Wall Street Protester in East German Military Uniform Calls for 'Class Warfare'

[Video]Heh.

Typical totalitarianism baiting, too. Hate that shit here in Germany. People never cleaned up after the Nazis they were themselves for 50 years, then the wall comes down and it's cleansing of the Reds all of a sudden.

"Would you wear a Nazi uniform?"

"Would you wear a Soviet uniform?"

Then the guy points out that the latter won WWII. Ooops, U.S. Allies?

*headdesk*

re: #231 EmmmieG

My guess is that New York City is on the hook for tens of thousands worth of clean up.

2 million so far for police OT.
[Link: news.yahoo.com...]

re: #236 sattv4u2

re: #235 sattv4u2

Talk about leverage in negotiations!!!

Ah, but garbage workers are union workers. More to the point, they're a public union.

I thought they weren't supposed to have any collective bargaining rights. At least that's what the GOP tells me.

“When a reporter asked me the other day, well, what do you think about those demonstrations up on Wall Street, I said, first of all, Wall Street didn’t write these failed economic policies -- the White House did,” said Cain.
He then added, “Why don’t you move the demonstrations to the White House?”

good question, Herm

[Link: cnsnews.com...]

re: #240 albusteve

LOL CNS News. That's Brent Bozell's site:

[Link: www.sourcewatch.org...]

re: #241 Lidane

LOL CNS News. That's Brent Bozell's site:

[Link: www.sourcewatch.org...]

Does that mean Cain DIDN'T say that??

Wall Street: "Yeah, Congress and the White House LET US rape the world economy so it's THEIR fault!"

re: #240 albusteve

“When a reporter asked me the other day, well, what do you think about those demonstrations up on Wall Street, I said, first of all, Wall Street didn’t write these failed economic policies -- the White House did,” said Cain.
He then added, “Why don’t you move the demonstrations to the White House?”

good question, Herm

[Link: cnsnews.com...]

Where would people be demonstrating right now if the White House had not bailed out Wall Street?

Probably everywhere!!!

re: #239 Lidane

Ah, but garbage workers are union workers. More to the point, they're a public union.

I thought they weren't supposed to have any collective bargaining rights. At least that's what the GOP tells me.

Yes,, because we all know that public union workers that do have collective bargaining rights never strike,, right?

re: #243 allegro

Wall Street: "Yeah, Congress and the White House LET US rape the world economy so it's THEIR fault!"

... and we're over regulated and over taxed too!

re: #240 albusteve

“When a reporter asked me the other day, well, what do you think about those demonstrations up on Wall Street, I said, first of all, Wall Street didn’t write these failed economic policies -- the White House did,” said Cain.
He then added, “Why don’t you move the demonstrations to the White House?”

good question, Herm

[Link: cnsnews.com...]

Wow, the current administration is responsible for 30 years of failed Republican policies? Well, don't that beat all? *rolls eyes*

re: #246 allegro

... and we're over regulated and over taxed too!

Maybe you just need more fiber in your diet!
/

re: #240 albusteve

Is Cain arguing that the stimulus was too small?

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday accused the Wall Street demonstrators of trying to cripple New York City's economy.

"What they're trying to do is take the jobs away from people working in this city," the mayor declared in his harshest criticism of the three-week-old protest that has caught the attention of the nation.

"They're trying to take away the tax base we have because none of this is good for tourism."

Read more: [Link: www.myfoxny.com...]